Daily Archive

We have a feeling that PAS, which has a vested interest in not upsetting detectorists and has therefore pulled its punches about them for 20 years may pull its punches again when recommending reforms. Consequently, we submit here just three quotes which the All Party Parliamentary Archaeology Group and the Government ought to be made aware of:

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FRENCH ARCHAEOLOGIST (with no axe to grind): “The British Government forbids the sale of all ivory objects for lack of certainty over the legal provenance. And why not the same thing for objects from detection?”

AMERICAN DETECTORIST (contemplating a £1,500 “UK Detecting holiday): “What can be expected of the England’s customs? Sarah has only heard of one person who had his finds checked by English customs. She brings home a heavy bag of finds from a previous trip and has never been questioned.”

and most telling of all ….

BRITISH FARMER:“Do you know, I’ve had about 16 detectorists on that field over the past twenty years, and not ONE has showed me a thing. I thought they weren’t finding anything“